


I never saw you coming (and I’ll never be the same)

by prettysky



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Sanvers Week 2019, everything's the same except maggie works in an animal shelter, maggie makes alex realize she's a lesbian is one of my favorite tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-27 11:56:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17766350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettysky/pseuds/prettysky
Summary: kara finds an alien dog, and she and alex are looking for an animal shelter who would agree to take it in.eventually, they find the perfect one, not only for its tolerance for aliens, but for the pretty employee who greets them, and gives alex the weirdest feeling in her stomach...\\Sanvers week 2019 - Day 6





	I never saw you coming (and I’ll never be the same)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm swamped with school stuff and other WIPs but i couldn't let sanvers week go through without contributing a little something ;)
> 
> hope you'll like it! it's short and cute and it has dogs. you need nothing more than that

"A dog?"

"Yes, Alex, a dog."

Alex's eyebrows were raised for ten whole seconds, and Kara rolled her eyes.

"What’s the problem?"

"Nothing, I just thought-"

"You thought that if it was an alien, it would have pointed green ears and a bright orange tail, I understand."

"No, just- I mean, yes, but, uh..." Alex frowned now, a new confused expression on her face, yet very much like the previous one. "I’m not sure I followed. Can you, ah, start over?"

Kara sighed, swinging her cape back so she could sit down.

"There was a fire at twenty-five and Amsterdam, the building burned down, and the firefighters hadn’t arrived yet, so I used my freeze brea-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got all that-"

"You told me to start over!"

Alex folded her hands. "I just..." she exhaled, still frowning. "A dog? An alien dog?"

"Yes, Alex, a dog!" Kara stood up, raising her hands in frustration. "I rescued from the burning building six people, two children, and one alien dog, why is it so hard to believe?"

"It’s just, I don’t know, I didn’t- I didn’t know, didn’t think, there were dogs... not on earth."

Kara raised one eyebrow, slightly amused. "There were dogs on Krypton."

Alex gaped. "You've never said a word in your life about kryptonian dogs! Are you serious? What do they look like?"

"I guess it's the same principle that works on kryptonian people, they look like the creatures on earth but with the yellow sun, they get power."

"And what you saved today is a kryptonian dog?"

"I think so. He started to fly and I had to catch him, and he broke a few things, too…” She shook her head. “The thing is, well, he's in isolation, I just come here to tell you I need you to check him up."

"Wow, yeah, sure," Alex jumped up and picked a small bag with supplies, starting to walk quickly toward the staircase. Kara let out a laugh, following her.

"So you had a dog when you were little?"

Kara shook her head no, a sad curve rising in her mouth. "Dad was allergic. But some of my friends had dogs, I loved to play with them when I came over."

"What about other animals?"

"We had birds, cats, squirrels..." Kara counted on her fingers. "But I don’t remember much of the animals, the climate was getting pretty tough as I grow up. Lots of animals just... died."

Her head crouched for a moment, and she sighed deeply. Alex put a hand on her back, rubbing it in comfort.

"So, where is he?" She asked, trying to distract Kara from the subject. Kara raised her head, sniffling. They had already got to the isolation cells, those with the lowest level of security, and Kara led her to the third cell on the left.

Inside the cell was a dog with white fur and a black mark around his neck, and reminded Alex the most of a spitz dog, but his fur wasn't very long. He looked in all directions, scratching the floor and walls, jumping and leaping. He seemed completely restless, and began to bark when he saw Kara and Alex.

"He looks nervous," Alex remarked uneasily. Kara waved her hand dismissively, reaching for the small screen by the door.

"We'll be fine, it's just a dog."

"An alien dog, Kara,"

"Don’t worry," Kara almost finished tapping the code that opened the door as a laser beam flicked from the dog's eyes to the glass door, which fortunately blocked it. Alex jumped back and the dog kept barking, his laser vision splashing all the way now, in the still closed cell.

Alex looked at Kara, startled. "Okay, he's definitely kryptonian."

Kara tilted her head. "Yeah, I just wonder why he didn’t show other kryptonian abilities when I brought him in... most of the time as I carried him he didn’t bark or got mad."

"Until you put it in a cage, look how pissed off he is!"

"Okay, okay," Kara raised her hands. "We'll be fine, we'll calm him down, and-"

"I'm not a veterinarian, Kara, I'm a doctor, and besides, if he's a kryptonian, there's no reason why he shouldn’t be alright! He's invincible, like you!" Alex bit her lower lip a little fearfully.

"What if we use red sunlight?"

"Kara, I'm not-"

"It'll be okay, come on." Kara patted her back encouragingly. "I'm running to get the lamp, stay here."

She disappeared in a flash of red cape and came back in a few seconds, a simple red-sun lamp in her hands. Alex sighed, taking out various instruments from the supply bag.

"What are these?"

"Things I usually use to make sure you're okay after a fight." Alex began connecting switches, pressing and turning buttons. "It will require a little less power because I'm not checking you but a smaller creature. I hope it'll be fine."

"Okay. I'm ready.” Kara held the red lamp in one hand, and with the other she reached to tap the code into the cell. The dog inside was still barking and raving, but he looked at the two with a little curiosity, his barking waning as the two entered the cell carefully. The dog looked at the red lamp, howling a little. Alex leaned over beside him and he raised her head to her.

Her heart went out to him as she looked into his big eyes, and she reached out to stroke his white, furry head. He continued to howl in fear, clinging to her.

"Oh, look at him," Alex murmured. Kara looked at him affectionately, reaching out to scratch his ears.

"Maybe we'll make him a collar," Alex said after a few moments. "Out of red sunlight, so he won’t harm us by mistake."

"I think we'll be fine. He understands... right?" Kara kept stroking the dog's head with both hands, a big smile spread across her face. He sent his tongue, licking her cheek joyfully.

"Uh, Kara?"

"Mmm?"

"It's a female dog."

Kara looked at Alex, then down at the dog's soft belly. "Oops."

"I can’t believe you didn’t notice."

"Sorry, I was busy with how cute she is!"

Alex rolled her eyes, continuing to scratch the dog's ears. She ran the instruments tests on her, and then again, to make sure everything was absolutely okay, and then with another instrument, and finally one last time, just to be sure. Kara continued to pet and play quietly with the dog while Alex examined her.

"Well, she looks pretty good to me." Said Alex, turning off the last one. "As far as I can understand the results of dogs versus people."

"So what do we do with her now?"

"You're sure she doesn't belong to anyone of the residents?" 

"Positive. I asked everyone at the scene, no one ever seen her before. She just... got there somehow." Kara caressed the dog's back. 

"Maybe she tried to save them," she suddenly said, and Alex's heart clenched to the thought of what could have happened if Kara wouldn't arrive in time. She ran her hand over the smooth fur of the dog, who was sitting still now, her tongue hanging from her mouth. Her chest was illuminated by the red light of the lamp, and Kara, who was also affected by the light, suddenly looked tired, her shoulders slouching. Alex put her hand on her shoulder.

"Being here makes you weaker. Let's go and ask J’onn."

*

"As much as I love dogs, I'm afraid she won’t be able to stay here."

"What?" Kara looked shocked. "Why not?"

"For starters, these cells are for dangerous prisoners, ones that should be kept in a cage. This dog, although she's kryptonian, is not dangerous. We keep creatures in these cells so they wouldn’t be outside and harm others."

Kara shifted her desperate gaze from Alex and back to J’onn. "But..."

"We'll find a solution." Alex put her hand on Kara's back. She turned to J’onn. "We can take her to an animal shelter?"

"Sounds like the best option for her." J’onn smiled consolingly to Kara, who folded her hands, her mouth sadly crooked.

"But if she's... if she’s not here then what's the point?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I can’t adopt her because I don’t have time to take care of her, and if she stays here I can be with her, play with her..." She sighed. "I haven’t felt so close to home as I did when I hugged her."

Alex and J’onn exchanged a look as Alex put her hand around Kara's shoulder for a hug. Kara had always missed home. Everything that reminded her of krypton made her dreamy, speak in a quiet voice, and mostly be sadder than usual. She and Clark would meet once a month for dinner and catching up, but a dog... that's something else. Alex rubbed her sister's back sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, Kara," said J’onn softly. "I know how important it is to you, I understand how you feel." He looked into her eyes. "I really want to help you, but I can’t allow her to stay here if she doesn’t pose a real danger to the public. That's part of the government's instructions about this organization."

Kara nodded, sniffling. "Yeah, that's... it's fine. it's whatever." She looked up at Alex. "Let's go and find Winn. He can make her a red sun collar."

An hour and a half, two bags of funyuns and a bottle of apple juice later, Winn came into the lab where they sat, a smile on his face. "There you go," he handed Alex the collar that was hanging from his finger. "One red sun lamp collar for the lady."

"Great, thanks." Kara got up from her chair, a little more cheerful. They decided to go round the animal shelters in town as soon as the collar will be ready, to find one who would agree to take in a kryptonian dog. They replaced their suits with everyday clothes, and now Kara took the collar from Winn, studying it.

"I would love to join you, but there are coordinates I still need to check about one of the new species we found," said Winn in disappointment, and Kara patted on his shoulder.

"You can come with us to the isolation cells and see if you've built this thing right," said Alex. Winn gave her a scowling face and Kara laughed.

Within five minutes the three of them were standing in front of the dog's cell, but instead of the startled reception waiting for Kara and Alex the last time, the dog jumped to her feet with enthusiasm, barking happily and rattling her tail. Kara opened the compartment door to a small opening and went inside, carefully and quickly wrapping the collar around the dog's neck. The dog suddenly calmed down, and Kara continued to caress her calmly, smiling with relief.

"Well, it looks like it works." Said Alex, patting Winn's back. "Good job."

Kara stood up, instructing the dog to follow her. They went out, and the dog stayed beside Kara all the way.

*

"This was the fourth shelter that kicked us out," Kara said desperately. They walked around the city, looking for a shelter that would accept a kryptonian dog, but everyone gave them a cold shoulder and a fake smile that meant only one thing- 'Aliens are not welcome here.' Kara almost burst out furiously at the last, but Alex caught her quickly, dragging her out with an apologetic look.

"If you’ll yell at them, I don’t think it will help our chances of getting her in." She said harshly, and Kara's shoulders dropped. She looked at the dog, who walked a little ahead of them in light steps, rattling her tail and sniffing corners.

"What's the point, they hate aliens anyway," Kara said dryly as they turned right, where there was another potential shelter. "She has a red sun collar that makes her behave like a normal dog, and they're still not ready to accept her." Alex patted her shoulder, trying to cheer her up.

"The next one will be different."

"How can you be so sure?"

They reached the entrance to the shelter and Alex pointed to the big sign up front. 'Star Haven Shelter For Animals', it said, and stellar drawings and glints filled the background. Kara's eyes widened.

"How have we not heard of this place before?" She asked as they went inside, looking around excitedly.

"Well, it's pretty new here," said a voice, and they both turned to the speaker. A woman in T-shirt and jeans, a sweet smile and glowing eyes stood just to their right. "We haven’t published ourselves too much yet."

Alex looked at her, confused, relieved. They found a shelter that will accept the dog for sure, and the place looked clean, warm, and there even seemed to be a… pretty nice receptionist.

"Maggie," the woman reached a hand for Alex. Alex shook it, and a light, almost imperceptible electrical current, passed through her fingertips. She held Maggie's hand for another few seconds, looking into her eyes. They were big, brown, and smiled at her with a warmth she couldn’t break away from.

"Alex?" Kara's voice drew her back to reality. She shook herself, blushing.

"A- Alex, me. I mean, my name, it’s Alex, I mean, you.., uh, Kara?"

"Kara," Kara hurried to save the situation, holding out her hand with a smile. Maggie's smile was polite, but somehow it seemed to conceal a bigger, playful one. She shook Kara's hand too, peering back at Alex, who blushed even harder, for some unknown annoying reason.

"Alex, Kara, it's nice to meet you. And who's this little sweety?" She went knee-high to stroke the dog, who quickly licked her as she scratched her neck and ears.

"Well, actually, we haven’t-"

"Gertrude."

Kara frowned at Alex and Maggie looked up in confusion. "Gertrude?"

"Yes, that's her name." Alex coughed awkwardly.

Maybe you should stop talking. From now on forever.

"Well, Gertrude, I suppose you're here because these nice ladies found you on the street?" Said Maggie, looking up at Kara again. Kara sighed.

"Yes. We've gone through some other shelters before we found this one. Not everyone agreed to accept her." Kara folded her arms, clearing her throat. "She’s, uh, she’s kryptonian."

"A kryptonian dog, huh?" Maggie continued to scratch Gertrude's ears, her fingers felt the collar. "What’s this?"

"It's a red sunlight collar, so she won’t use her powers too excessively. With that, she can walk outside and not be in a cage all the time." Said Kara.

"Interesting. I would never think about it." She looked up at Alex.

"Is that your idea?"

Alex coughed again, scratching her neck. Is it getting hot in here? "Yes, that’s-" She coughed again. Her voice cracked, too high. "That's my idea."

"Cool." Maggie gave one last scratch to Gertrude's head before getting up. "All the animals are accepted here, with no minor differences like a birth star or unusual limbs," she winked at Alex, and Alex felt an urge to take off her jacket, to fan herself with her hand.

She felt stupid. She felt her heart beating too fast, sweat gathering down her back, her breathing getting shorter and shorter. She looked at Maggie and Kara talking about the kinds of animals at the shelter, and every time Maggie smiled or pulled her hair out of her face, or- oh, god- stole a look at Alex, everything was spinning in front of her, and she tried to close her eyes to relax without it being weird.

What was happening to her? This is so unprofessional. It never happened to her before. Maybe there's something in the air? Something she'd eaten earlier? Something about Gertrude?

"...I can show you the place, if you’d like." Maggie glanced at Alex again. "Are you okay?”

"Yes, yes, of course," Alex put on a smile. "Let’s go."

They walked down the hallway, into a large hall full of cages and various animals. The atmosphere was calm, pleasant, a few place workers and more people walked around the cages, feeding, playing and petting the animals inside and out the cages. At the end of the room there was an exit, and Alex could see it leads to a big yard, and more animals and people were over there. Kara turned to Alex with a wide, bright smile.

"This is the place, Alex." She murmured. Alex smiled at her, patting her arm. Kara kept looking around, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.

"I'm going to pet the dolian cats," she said, and went quickly to one of the cages, crouching happily. Maggie looked at her from a distance, chuckling. She turned to Alex.

"So..." she murmured, sticking her hands in her pockets. "When did you find her?"

"Kara found her this morning. She wanted to adopt her but her job wouldn’t let her take care of a dog." She turned her head to Maggie, again finding brown, pleasant eyes. There were light freckles on Maggie's cheeks, on her nose, and Alex found herself, in a way she couldn't explain, missing a beat.

"It sucks."

"Yeah," Alex managed to look away, looking for Gertrude in her eyes. She found her next to Kara, who was surrounded by two dogs, one with a jagged tail, and an especially large cat. Even a rabbit or two lay beside her, making a few strange sounds. Kara's eyes glowed with joy, and she giggled loudly.

"Do you think she could come here to play with the animals from time to time? She seemed to be... enjoying herself." Alex smiled slightly at the sight of Kara surrounded by animals.

"Yeah, sure! We're always looking for more volunteers, especially since there aren’t many people willing to play with alien animals."

"Oh, believe me, Kara will be happy to come in. I haven’t seen her like that in a long time." Alex turned her head again to Maggie, who looked up at her with a slightly different look, a little afraid and perhaps... hiding something? Something that reminded her of fake manners. She wondered what was it all about.

"So you, ah..." The confident, smiling Maggie disappeared, and instead appeared an awkward, stressed Maggie. "Have you two been together for a long time?"

Alex didn’t expect that. Maggie thinks she and Kara ... oh, wow.

"Wh- what? no, no, no, we’re not- we’re sisters," Alex's heart raced for some inexplicable reason, and she could see a flush on Maggie's cheek. Maggie breathed with relief, perhaps embarrassment.

"Oh, wow, I'm... of course, I’m sorry-"

"No, it's okay, I mean- sure-"

Both of them continued to stammer apologies, evading eyes. It was rather embarrassing, but before Alex could stop herself she began to chuckle, stealing another look at Maggie. The blush flattered her cheeks, and she brushed her hair away again and again, staring at her shoes.

"Hey, it's alright, don’t worry about it." Alex patted Maggie on the shoulder, smiling at her encouragingly. Maggie exhaled in relief again, standing upright. She did look encouraged.

"And you, uh," Maggie gestured with her hand, with her eyebrows, something Alex couldn’t understand, something she was sure she was missing. She wore a confused look.

"Are you single?"

"Yes," said Alex slowly, still confused. "Wh-"

And it all came into place at once, and Alex was almost angry with herself for taking so long to get it.

That Maggie, she... she likes girls. Maybe she's even a lesbian. That's why she's been looking at Alex like that since they came in, that's why she was interested in whether Alex and Kara were dating, that's why she looked relieved when she found out they were not.

That's why she asks if Alex is single. She wants to ask her out.

But that doesn’t explain why Alex's throat is dry or why she can’t make clear words in the presence of this woman, who seems to control everything that happens in Alex's body from the moment they entered.

"I- ah, I'm single, yes, I'm just... sorry, I'm not, uh, the thing is that-"

"You're straight." Maggie smiled understandingly, a flicker of disappointment filling her eyes. "It's okay."

What is happening to her? A tight smile came onto her face. "I mean, no offense, Maggie, I'm sorry-"

"No, I get it, you're not gay."

"Right."

Maggie studied her for a few moments. "You'd be surprised to know how many gay women I heard that from."

Alex didn’t know how to react, and her smile froze on her face. Maggie shook her head.

"It's okay, of course, I'm sorry," she looked around. "Let's write down Gertrude's details and let you get out of here."

She walked away and went through a flowered door, disappearing in a moment. Alex watched her walking, confused to death, her heart still beating fast.

"Hey!" Kara appeared behind her, a wide smile on her face, carrying a cute little puppy. "Look at this little guy." She held him in front of her, making faces. She noticed the confused, frozen face on Alex's face, hearing Alex's heartbeat racing. She hurried to take the puppy down, carefully placing it on the ground.

"What's going on?"

"Something... ah, something really weird happened."

"What?"

"I mean, it wasn’t as strange as it was confusing, although from the moment we came in here I feel weird, and what happened explained everything but also made it even more strange, and I don’t-"

"Alex." Kara put both hands on Alex's shoulders. “Breathe. Tell me what happened, from the beginning. "

"This Maggie? she’s gay, and she thought I was too, and she asked me out."

Kara raised her eyebrows. "Okay, what's strange about that?"

"She gave me all the clues and I didn’t catch them and then she told me clearly and I understood but it was really awkward, and-." Alex closed her eyes in frustration. "I’m having trouble breathing. Maybe I have an allergy? my heart is beating fast, and it's hot in here, and everything is really weird, I don’t know..."

"It's hard for you to breathe and your heart is beating fast and, it’s hot?" Kara looked around. "Even though the temperature here is not over 60 degrees? Alex, what's going on?"

"I think it's Maggie, she's really... I don’t know, she's confusing me."

"In what way?" Kara frowned. Alex raised her head, breathing deeply. She looked into Kara's eyes, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

Kara raised her eyebrows back at her, her mouth slightly open.

"Oh."

Alex was silent.

"Alex, you-"

"I don’t know! God, it was supposed to be a typical Tuesday, I'm supposed to kick Winn’s ass in Zelda and eat pizza for lunch, what's going on?" Alex buried her face in her hands. Kara quickly put an arm on her shoulder, rubbing gently.

"Okay, calm down, we'll fix it. Come on, let's just sit down, okay?" Kara hurried to lead her out of the room, finding a bench in a far corner.

"You never felt these feelings?"

"Not like this. Not with this... suddenness. Like something heavy landed on me from nowhere. A piano or something."

Kara sniggered for a moment, then stopped immediately. "Sorry."

They were silent for a few moments, Kara's hand still on Alex's back, and Alex’s face still in her hands.

"Alex, what if you go on a date with Maggie?"

Alex raised her head slowly. "I met her fifteen minutes ago."

"Fifteen minutes during which, as you mentioned, you had shortness of breath, rapid heart palpitations, and felt inexplicable heat." Kara shrugged. "Sounds like a classic case of mini-crash."

"Crash? Kara, what are you talking about? I don’t even like girls!"

Kara sighed. "Look, we both know you're not allergic to anything, and you said you've never felt that way before. But, uh, maybe it's because you just didn't give yourself the chance. And, maybe you should give it a try. Give yourself a try.” She added quickly when she saw Alex open her mouth in an attempt to protest. "It doesn’t mean anything bad about you, it just means that you're trying to understand yourself better, to figure out who you are. Maybe you'll find things about yourself that you didn’t let yourself feel. I’m just saying, anything can happen."

Alex was silent, listening to her breathing, which has slowed down. She heard what Kara said, trying to process it, feeling more confused than ever. She felt a conflict inside herself she didn't even know was there- the possibility that Kara was right, versus the unclear stubbornness of not letting this happen at any price. Without a warning, she found a war within herself. Kara sighed again.

"Look, I... I just think it might be a really good idea for you to go on a date. Maggie looks like a nice girl, maybe you'll like her. Go out for a dinner, or a movie, or a walk in the park. Do something together. You-" She patted Alex on the back. "Have to go out and find a life. Hobbies, somebody nice to hang out with, damn it, even get a dog. Just in here there's ten of them." She laughed, and Alex turned her head to her, biting her lip.

"Maybe it's time for you to do something else but watch over me all the time. Something outside the DEO. Something for yourself."

"I'm not even sure I like her! I mean-"

"Alex." Kara stared at her. Alex exhaled.

"Okay, maybe I do... like her," Alex blew out, her heart beating fast, again, to the thought alone. Something far inside her broke, and something else cheered. "But what if it won’t work? What if I take five minutes for myself and everything will explode? What if it's just a, a small incident and I'll feel-"

"Nothing will explode." Kara straightened Alex's back to look into her eyes. "You deserve to live outside of work, you deserve to find yourself and live the life you want, and me," Kara smiled softly, proudly. "I’ll be just fine."

Alex swallowed. She doesn’t know life without her sister. She knows nothing without her sister on her side, without her having to protect her. Kara might be the girl of steel, but she would always need Alex beside her. And Alex? she'll always need Kara. In this crazy journey she's not sure she'll ever have enough courage to start, she will definitely need her sister.

Is she really doing this? It feels like breaking something. Like she needs to apologize for making a mess, but somehow, it's so... liberating. She's breaking everything, and the sunlight shining in. She wanted to cry, but instead she started to breathe deeply as Kara presses a kiss to her temple. 

"I love you," she said, hugging her tight and warm. "And I'm so proud of you. Don't forget that."

Alex nodded. She could never forget.

"Hey, uh-" They turned their head sharply, finding Maggie standing there, biting her lip, holding a clipboard decorated with bird paintings.

"Sorry I'm interrupting, but I need you to fill out this form." She handed Kara the form, avoiding eye contact with Alex. Kara smiled at her.

“Of course, thank you, Maggie." Kara got up, straightening her pants. "Why don’t you and Alex do it together? I really want to do a last round at the reptiles."

"Oh, yes, I just-"

"Excellent," she patted Alex's back one last time, walking away. Alex could see her turn and wink for a moment, and disappear around the corner.

Maggie sat down slowly, clearing her throat. Alex noticed her tidying her hair behind her ear, biting her lip again, bowing her head. Her heart, unnoticed, softened and melted, and she found herself smiling at her.

"Okay, name?"

"Alex Danvers."

The angle of Maggie's mouth rose up as she wrote. "Danvers. Nice name."

"Yours?"

Maggie didn’t raise her head. "Sawyer. Maggie Sawyer."

Alex nodded. "It's also a nice name."

Maggie took a deep breath. "Where did you find- I mean, Kara, where did she found Gertru-"

"Do you still want to go out with me?"

Maggie looked up at her in shock, her mouth dropping. Alex blushed, and tried to regulate the rhythm of her heartbeat. If it’ll keep on like this, she'd have to go check on that heart.

"I, ah, thought about it. In the last ten minutes. I just- i don’t know? if I'm straight? But I don’t know if I'm gay, either. Right now, I'm... I'm not sure of anything. " Alex nodded as she spoke, gathering strength. "But I know I'm ready to try, and you look like a nice person. I think I want to try... with you. If that's okay, of course. I mean, I don’t want to make-"

"I would love to." A smile spread over Maggie's face, lightening them, sweeter than any smile Alex had ever seen. There was something sincere and pleasant about it, and a short laugh blurts out of Maggie's mouth as she looked into Alex's eyes.

"So, uh, tomorrow night?"

"What about tonight?"

Alex couldn’t help smiling wider, chuckling for a moment. "Okay, tonight."

"Eight-thirty? I'll pick you up."

"Sure."

Their eyes crossed for a long moment, and Alex found herself sinking, and at the same time floating, happy, something in her, oddly enough, felt more liberated than ever before.

"Twenty-five and Amsterdam."

"Huh?"

"This is where Kara found Gertrude." Alex smirked, leaning back.

"Yes, yes, of course." Maggie wrote down the details. "I need your phone number, too."

"For the form, or..?"

"Both." Maggie gave her back a smirk, and Alex felt lightness again, and a good feeling about the near future. Or the distant future, who can tell. She took the paper from Maggie, writing her phone number in the right box.

"Here." She handed Maggie back the page, turned to get up. "Call me."

"I will."

She turned to the animals' hall, taking a last look at Maggie, who examined the page with a small, gentle smile before entering the hall to find Kara sitting on the floor, no less than twelve animals sitting on or beside her.

"Get up, you dufus. I have a date tonight."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks sarah for the idea 👌🏼
> 
> i'm bilerleighs on twitter and bilerleigh on tumblr, yall can come say hi
> 
> also, 🌻


End file.
